Melancholy And Roses
by xXNaLuMo0nXx
Summary: When war breaks out between two kingdoms, a young princess is left to pick up the pieces of her fathers broken past to find the cause of his bitter actions. It doesn't help her little situation when she is taken hostage by the opposing kingdom, and left unsure on her fathers next actions. Could a rose of hope bloom in this situation? Or will the melancholy linger forever? SonAmy.
1. Chapter 1 - Clash Of Kingdoms

Melancholy And Roses

Chapter 1 - Clash Of Kingdoms

_Iris Kingdom; Roughly 3:00pm:_

She sat; jade eyes fixed on the view before her, a court yard adorned with roses and other types of flowers. That wasn't what took her interest the most though, it was the fact that it was peaceful. She was at peace.

She sighed in disappointment, just knowing that this peace would not last. The court yard that sat before her bedroom was practically the only part of the kingdom that hadn't fallen to pieces since war had broken out. Iris and Mobias, two kingdoms that sat a mere few kilometres away from each other had recently started an agonising and brutal war due to her fathers un-natural craving for power, he had managed to fabricate a claim with some help of a fellow subject of his, and had wrote a letter containing his formal declaration or war to the current ruler of Iris, Queen Aleena.

She placed a small hand on the stone window arch of the window that was situated before her; her hand jolting slightly at contact with the colder object, before returning to its usual state and posture. Her pink quills waved in the wind as she leaned a little further out of the window to catch a better view of the court yard, just knowing that sooner or later it would be turned into a smoldering pile of fire and ash like the rest of the kingdom sooner or later.

Amy had never wanted war, she was one for peace and harmony and failed to understand why people even bothered with war. What purpose did it serve? People only ended up hurt or killed, and the aftermath of war is always an extremely hard issue to get over. The other reason she hadn't wanted the kingdom of Iris to go to war was because she knew she'd be a prime target. She was her father and mother's only child, and the rightful heir to the kingdom of Iris. It was almost certain that Mobias or any other kingdom that her father decides to pledge war against would try to abduct her and hold her prisoner at their kingdom in an attempt to force her father in to surrendering. Surely forcing her father into surrendering would benefit everyone, right? Amy knew exactly what would happen. She knew that he'd go forward with the war no matter what happened to her, he only cared about getting power after all.

She was more angry than worried however, she was angry at her father for letting all this happen in the first place.  
Lance had been the ruler of Iris for a solid 12 years along side Amy's mother, Aubrianne, though he and his wife had vanished for several months during the 12th year of his reign. Amy had never been told fully on what had happened to her father or mother, but she remembered her father prodding into the castle one day, 10 months after he had gone missing, wearing a bitter expression. Amy had never had a proper conversation with him since, it was like all the love and emotion he had ever possessed in his heart had vanished off of the face of the earth, leaving him emotionless and bitter. Amy had never seen her mother again, and came to the conclusion that she had died at some point during those 10 months. Amy looked a lot like her presumably deceased mother, Aubrianne; pink quills and piercing jade eyes. The only real difference was her fringe, Aubrianne chose to wear her's pushed back, whilst Amy had hers freely hanging over a fraction of her face.

Amy smiled slightly at the memory of her mother, it pained her to have lost her at such a young age, but she still felt as if she was with her at heart.  
Amy had tried once before to ask her father about what had happened to her mother and himself during the 10 months they had been missing for, but earned nothing but an unapproved growl and her father's bitter tone ordering for her to be taken out of his sight immediately.

She closed her eyes, replaying the event in her mind once again.

_"Father, please, I beg of you to tell me what happened to you and mother during those 10 months, I was worried sick about what had happened to you both."_

_Lance scowled, letting out a growl that made Amy aware that he did not approve of this subject in the slightest. _

_"Amelia, I demand that you return to your room immediately. I do not wish to discuss this matter with you, or anyone in this court at that matter!"_

_Amy hesitated slightly, but decided to stand her ground. She had been deprived of this information long enough now and she wanted answers already. "Father! I insist that you tell me!"_

_He father rose from his seat, startling the young princess and causing her to take several large steps back, now having second thoughts on bringing up this subject. _

_Lance had walked towards her as she had pondered, tightly gripping hold of her shoulders and keeping her in place as she tried to flee the scene. He had an expression that scared Amy half to death on his face; it just made the princess want to run even more than she had previously._

_She shut her eyes tightly as her father began to yell as if there were no tomorrow. "When I say that I don't want to talk about a subject, I mean it, Amelia! You are not permitted to disobey my orders, I am the king!"_

_Amy felt the tears that had previously began to well in her eyes begin to spill down her face. Her father had never been like this before he and his mother had left and not came back. She had given up on listening to what he was screaming at her now, she knew it only revolved around one thing. Power, and the amount of power he had as king. Despite that the original subject had been about what had happened to him and her mother, her father still turned it to a rant about how she was not permitted to disobey him and the consequences of disobeying someone with a higher status than herself. Him._

_She felt herself be thrown to the stone ground; she was a shivering mess, covered in tears. She felt her shoulders bruising in at instant from where her fathers grasp was just a mere few moments before. _

_"Get her out of my sight!" She heard her father order the guards in his bitter tone, before turning his back to her._

_She felt herself be hauled up by a guard and taken from the room that she had been in before. _

_As soon as she was a fair distance from the throne room, she turned around to the guard who was loyal to the kingdom of Iris._

_"Princess, are you alright? Are you hurt?" He asked, releasing Amy, knowing that she would be able to walk herself from here. He placed an armoured hand on one of her shoulders, Amy letting out a small hiss of pain at the contact, but assured him that it was just a slight bruise and would clear up in no time._

_After being convinced that she was alright, the guard turned to her once more. "Please excuse the king, I'm sure he just has something on his mind, you know how he can be. Please try not to discuss such pressing matters for the moment for now, Princess. For your own safety."_

_Amy simply turned away, before turning into her room, letting the door close with a slight thud._

Amy had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the presence of a young girl below her. She hadn't even noticed when the said girl called her name in a cute voice.

"Princess Amy!"

The small rabbit pouted, calling her name once more before finally catching the attention of the princess.

"Cream! What are you doing here, it's not safe!" Panic shrouded over Amy, Cream and her mother Vanilla had previously been a part of Iris's court, but was evacuated to the kingdom of Mobias once King Lance had started to become more and more dangerous, making Iris unsafe for the young rabbit.

Cream's worried expression, however, is what made Amy leave the subject of her being back at Iris for the time being, and begin listening to what the girl had to say. "Princess Amy, it's awful! Mobias is being invaded by Iris, you must do something!" Cream began, tears spilling down her cute little face as she began to shake in fear. "I was s-so scared, so I ran all the way to Iris in order to let you kn-know..an-"

"Cream, you need to return to Mobias and hide for now. I'll ask Blaze to escort you there, she's not to keen on my father's actions anyway. And on top of that, you're mother's probably worried sick!"

Cream nodded, feeling a little more reassured. But her face turned blank once again, as she turned to Amy once more. "What about you, Amy?"

Amy felt a little taken back by what Cream had asked._ What would she do?_  
"I-I'm going to try and reason with my father...wish me luck." Amy was a little daunted about doing this, she knew how scary her father was now, but she had to do something.

She ran from her room, gripping her silky pink dress in her gloved hands so she didn't trip and fall. She needed to get to Blaze with haste, otherwise Mobias would be in ruins in no time.

She turned several corners, looking in various rooms for the purple cat, but to no avail. She just couldn't seem to find her.  
She knew that time was running thin...

"Blaze!" She called at the top of her voice, her lungs hurting slightly as she called a second time.

Blaze came running around the corner quickly in a panic filled state. "Amy! Are you alright, you're not hurt ar-"

"No time for that!" Amy interrupted, knowing that time was running thin. "I have a job for you."

Blaze's expression changed as she returned to her usual, sensible posture. "What might that be?" She replied.

"I need you to escort Cream back to Mobias, Iris is invading and she needs to hide for her own safety. And I know you're not keen on my father's actions either, so could you please do this for me?"

Blaze looked reluctant, sure she did not agree in the slightest about what Lance was doing, but she knew almost as well as Lance himself that he would have her head if he found out that she was assisting the enemy team.

"Please, Blaze... I won't let my father find out, I swear." Amy pleaded once more, finally causing Blaze to give in. "F-fine..."  
Amy quickly thanked her, before departing to find her father in an attempt to stop this. Once and for all...

She slammed open the throne rooms' double doors, before proceeding to walk toward her father, who was now grinning as a guard reported on the destruction of Mobias.

"Father, I demand that you stop this!" Amy yelled, pressing her nails into her palms through her satin gloves. Her father just snickered. "And why would I do that, Amelia?"

Amy went to talk once more, but was hushed by her father's menacing glare.

"Don't you see? We could have anything we want if we take over Mobias and the other kingdoms around the area. We could build an empire and take over more land across the globe." Amy felt a pang of fury well up inside of her, how was he so content about all this? Did he feel no remorse?

"Power is what we need, Amelia. And you will carry on this legacy when you rule."

Oh, that was it. That was what set her off.

"And what makes you think that I want power? Did it not occur to you that I might want to be a peaceful ruler who doesn't fabricate false claims and take over land every five minutes, father?!"

Even her father looked slightly taken back by her outburst; there had been several times in the past where she had vented out the way she felt about her fathers actions, but not once had she screamed at him like this.

"I'm sick of it, father! All your talk about power and control, you declaring war every ten freaking seconds, you putting the kingdom in danger. I'm sick of it all!"

Her father had looked toward the wall that was situated behind his throne whilst his daughter was venting out all her inner thoughts and rage, but he soon promptly shut her up when he turned on his heels with his menacing expression on his face, rage now filling him from head to toe. _How dare she oppose him and his actions. He was the king!_

He began to approach her, but Amy had already began to flee the castle before he had managed to get to her.

"And where do you think _**you're**_ going?!" His voice was audible to the young princess who was now outside the castle, but she simply ran instead of replying to what he had yelled a mere few seconds ago.

_Mobias Kingdom; Roughly 4:30pm_

Fire, ash and screams could be heard from outside. It was enough to send chills down anyones spine, no matter how brave they claim themselves to be.

Blaze had arrived in the castle about half an hour ago, she had of course needed to explain herself thoroughly to the court of Mobias before being allowed inside to hide a trembling young rabbit, but at least she and Cream had made it to Mobias with close to no difficulty. And now, in the basement of Mobias's castle, sat Queen Aleena, with a still shaking Cream in her lap, and her three children. Sonic, Manic and Sonia sat in different areas of the room, making sure not to make any loud noises incase any of Iris's troops are made aware of their location. Iris had not yet been able to breach the main castle, but they were cutting their way through the main wall protecting the city, and if they were to get through there it would be almost impossible to contain them.

"M-miss Aleena I-I'm frigh-frightened." The young rabbit choked out between sobs. Aleena just proceeded to stroke her head to try and comfort her.

"There, there, Cream. I'm sure things will be fine. Mobias has great military forces, they'll be able to handle themselves and keep Iris out of Mobias for the time being." Aleena smiled at the young girl; her sniffles gradually becoming less frequent and less audiable. Aleena was about to carry on, but she was interrupted by a huff that occurred from beside her. Her eldest son, Sonic, was sat with an irritated expression plastered across his face.

"I should be out there defending our city too, mother. I'm perfectly able to defend myself and others, you and I know that perfectly well."

Aleena sighed at her son, she knew he was an able fighter, he had been trained by the best after all. But she just couldn't let him go out onto the battlefield, he was her heir and would be taking over the kingdom as a new ruler in several months time. Aleena had decided to hand down her place as ruler early, she had watched over the kingdom for many years now and the job was becoming more and more tiresome for her, so she decided that Sonic would take over in her place within the next few months. In fact, Mobias had been in preparation for the ceremony where Aleena would pass down her title before King Lance sent his declaration or war and invaded the city.  
All that work was to go down the drain if Iris manage to pass the castle's main defensive wall and make it into the city. _They'll destroy everything..._

Aleena sighed, looking down at the basement's floor. "Sonic, I'm sorry, but I can not let my heir go out and fight in a time of brutal war, you and I know that I cannot lose my heir, especially after all the preparation for the ceremony."

Manic's ears seemed to pick up during Aleena's little speech. "Y'know, you've always got me if anything happens to Sonic, mum." He stated with a little too much enthusiasm; earning himself a punch from his sister, Sonia, who was quietly sat next to him, playing with her quills. "Idiot..."

Aleena giggled slightly at her youngest son's statement. "You're not ready, Manic." She notified him sternly, causing him to sit back against the wall, crossing his arms and sulking slightly. "If you say so." he mumbled in a stroppy tone.

Aleena, after giggling once more, returned her attention to her eldest son. "  
"Mum, I swear I can handle myself. We've got more chance of defending the kingdom if we have more troops out on the battlefield, it's for the best."

"Sonic, no!" Aleena almost yelled, but contained it to more of a firm whisper given that they needed to stay hidden. They were a prime target, after all.

Sonic seemed taken back by his mothers tone, but still kept himself focused on the matter at hand.

"Sonic, this mistake was made when your father was allowed to go onto the battlefield and fight, that's the reason he's not here now. I don't want the same to happen to you.."

Sonic sighed, there was no beating his mother in an argument when she played the father card. He, reluctantly, gave in and remained sat in the basement, remaining hidden from any Iris troops that may pass by.

_Outskirts Of Mobias; Roughly 6:30pm_

The young princess had no clue about how long she had been out there, nor where she was.  
She was shivering and shaking frantically as another gust of bitter cold wind smacked her in the face. She scolded herself for not bringing a coat with her.  
On top of the bitter cold weather, Amy also had the fog to deal with. She could barely see her own gloved hand before her face, let alone anything that may be before her.

She didn't know how much longer she could go on for, she had considered turning back toward Iris a small while ago when the fog was still faint, but, despite the fact that she hated to admit it, was pretty damn stubborn and refused to return without a fight. Oh, how she regretted that now...

When she thought that all hope was lost, she saw a dim light heading her way through the fog. Amy's face lit up, a small smile appearing on her face as she ran toward the person holding the dim lantern; waving her hands and yelling for them as she did so. She was not aware of who would be holding onto that lantern though.

"E-Excuse me, I'm in desperate need of your help, I beg of you to take me to the nearest kingdom." Amy had spoken too soon. For the person holding the lantern was none other than one of the guards of Mobias.

"That outfit...It can't be. Princess of Iris, you are to be taken back to the kingdom of Mobias as a prisoner of war." The guard stated sternly, his face not visible to the pinkette due to the ever-growing fog.

"N-no, please! You're mistaken, I do not intend to hurt you an-" Amy began, before being hushed by the guards voice. "Please stay silent, otherwise I will be forced to strike you down here and now." She kept her mouth shut after that, deciding that it would be a wise idea to go through with the guard's orders for now if she wanted to remain breathing. But this was it. What she feared would happen the most.

_Mobias Kingdom; Roughly 7:00pm_

The Mobian troops, with great struggle, had finally been able to send the Iris troops back to their kingdom. They had suffered a great loss in numbers, but the city had not been breached which was a major relief to all those who lived there.

The royal court of Mobias had been informed that it was safe to leave the castle basement, and were now returning to their original routines. That was until, however, a guard entered the castle with a girl hanging over his shoulder, her hands cuffed.

Aleena looked up at the guard, she was not sure who it was as of the moment due to his helmet, but that was not her main concern as of the moment. "And who would that be?" She asked, walking from her throne and heading toward the guard holding the girl.

"Your majesty, this is the princess of Iris. We caught her wandering on Mobian territory after the attack, and decided that it would be safer for everyone to take her prisoner as of now. Who knows what her intentions are..."

Aleena pondered for a moment, pacing around the throne room before replying.

"By princess of Iris, you do mean Amelia Rose I presume?" She asked, earning a nod from the guard before her. She nodded in return before continuing  
"From what young Cream has told me, I've heard that she is nothing like Lance is now, and does not intend to harm us in any way, but I agree that it is in everyone's best interest to keep her here for now, just to be on the safe side. " "Proceed to the dungeons we will question her tomorrow as she is probably to tired to answer anything we may need to ask at the moment. I will ask one if my children to supply her with the best possible hospitality and somewhere to sleep, we do not want to punish her by keeping her in a dark, dreary dungeon if it is not necessary.

The guard simply nodded, before walking down the stone staircase toward Mobias's dungeons.

Aleena watched his retreating figure, before calling for her eldest son and heir. "Sonic!"

It only took a mere few seconds for him to appear before her, he had always been quick on his feet. "Yes, mother?"

"Mobias's guards have taken in a prisoner from Iris, she's the princess. I need you to collect up some fresh sheets and some bread and water for her."

Sonic looked reluctant to responding to his mother's request. _Why did she want him to supply someone from the kingdom that they're fighting against with a place to sleep and some food and water?_

"But why? She's apart of Iris, shouldn't we keep the conditions as they are, that way she might spill some information that we could use." Sonic began, but was promptly stopped by his mother.

"From what I've been told by Cream, she's not alike Lance, and has nothing to do with the attempted invasion of Mobias. I can not punish anyone who has not been proven guilty, it is against my honour as Queen." She explained, earning a nod from Sonic. She would have to clear up the situation to Sonia and Manic in the morning, but that would have to wait for the moment, for she was too tired to do so now.

_Mobias Dungeon; Roughly 7:30pm_

She gripped at her dress, she had never felt this nervous and frightened in her entire life. What would happen to her? Would she be left to Rot? Or maybe banished to another kingdom? Or maybe she would be_**...executed...**_

She shook the horrible thought from her mind, deciding that being pessimistic about the entire situation would not do her nerves any good. She needed to be optimistic, but then again, what was there to be optimistic about? She didn't want to go back to Iris, she had fled the kingdom intending to escape her father, so being rescued would not do her any good. But it was no better being held captive at Mobias either, she may not be given a chance to explain herself that could lead to terrible, terrible things. And even if she is given a chance to explain herself what are the chances that they'll believe her? She was from Iris, an enemy, there's no chance that they'll believe anything that she says, even if it is the truth an-

"Umm, hey. I have some things for you."

Amy looked up suddenly. Through the bars of her cell, she could see a blue quilled hedgehog adorned in an outfit similar to the ones the royal court of Iris would wear, with a golden crown sat proudly on the top of his head.

"Th-thanks..." She answered, gratefully taking the things he had supplied him with. She took greedy gulps of the water, feeling extremely parched having not had a drink since she had fled Iris.

"You'll have some clean robes and bed sheets sent aswell down soon, Queen's order." He was about to walk away, but was stopped in his tracks when Amy called him back.

"Wait, please!" She called, Sonic stopping in his tracks as he heard her voice. "Yes. Is there an issue."

Amy leaned back, a little lost for words. _Why had she called him back?_

"I-I was just wondering why Queen Aleena is being so nice to me, I thought I was supposed to have been taken hostage?

Sonic turned to face her. "I'm not sure why myself, don't take advantage of it, Pinkie" He said in a cool tone, before prodding up the stairs, closing the door behind him.

Amy was taken back for a second of two, before realising what he had said..._Pinkie?_  
"I wasn't planning to anyway...and who are you calling pinkie?! I'm Amy damn it, _Amy_!"

She heard him chuckle from behind the door, and couldn't help but smirk herself. Despite the fact that she was being held hostage in the opposing kingdoms dungeon, she couldn't help but feel as if the melancholy had been lifted from her heart. She shook her head once more, _what was she thinking? ..._

_End of Chapter 1 - Clash Of Kingdoms_

* * *

**AN: So, I really hope you liked the first chapter! I hope the whole time and place thing I did didn't annoy you too much, it just makes it easier to understand when I skip between kingdoms. Also, I know that the characters are a little OC, but it's an AU fic, so it's hard to keep them in character, sorry ^^;**

**Also, all the characters are going to be talking fairly formally in this due to the fact that they're of a royal background in this story, so if that annoys you then I'd advise you not to read this fanfic xD**

**Anyway, I'll try to update soon! Possibly next weekend, or maybe earlier c:**

**And please rate and review, it would mean alot to me! :3**


	2. Chapter 2 - Trials And Predicaments

Melancholy And Roses

Chapter 2 - Trials And Predicaments

_Mobias Kingdom; Roughly 8:00am_

The next morning, the Iris princess awoke not in her own sheets, but in the sheets that had been provided for her in the kingdom of Mobias's dungeons. She had almost forgotten about the events of the following night due to her being up late and not having much time to process the entire situation with a good nights sleep, so she awoke in a confused state; looking around the room for anything that could hint where she was, before recalling on the entire situation and calming down slightly.

She could only assume that morning had come as the lighting in the dungeon was limited due to the lack of windows or lanterns hanging on the walls; something that she was content with considering that having windows would make an easy escape route for any of the crooks that had been locked away here.  
She, however, was not intending on escaping anyway. If she ran, then it would look as if she had planned to harm the people of Mobias and was hiding something, and she didn't want that. Besides, she didn't have anywhere she could run too anyway, Iris was most certainly off-limits for her, and she wasn't aware of the exact locations of any other kingdoms that she could flee too, so here in Mobias she would stay for now.

She decided to wake up; knowing that someone would most likely be here to question her later. They wouldn't keep her in the dungeon in a situation like this. She was the princess of the enemy team, after all. They'll probably try to pry information from her one way or another, she was a good source considering she had been at Iris's court at the time her father had launched the attack on the city of Mobias.

Her bare feet flinched and shivered slightly when they made contact with the cold stone floor, but soon adjusted to the temperature and allowed her to proceed walking into a far corner of the room to fetch the garment she had worn the night before when she was taken here. A tapping on the bars, however, stopped her firmly in her tracks. She turned her head in the direction in which the sound had been emitted from; looking to find the source of it. And sure enough, she found a person stood there. It was the same blue quilled hedgehog that she had conversed with briefly the night before; clad in an outfit similar to what he had worn then. A white jacket adorned with golden buttons, a pair of neatly ironed trousers and the Mobian crown still sat proudly on the top of his head.

She was about to give him a mouthful for calling her pinkie before he left the following night, but decided to keep a mature and sensible posture, knowing that one wrong move could lead to harsh consequences. "Is there anything you require from me?" She asked, deciding to be the first to say something out of the duo as he didn't seem to say anything in the time that he had been stood there before her cell.

"Queen Aleena has ordered for your presence in the throne room, she has some questions to ask you." He simply replied; unlocking her cage and signalling for her to follow him. Amy could only gulp, what was going to happen? Would the queen believe her story? Or may- "Hey, you look nervous. Is something up?" The blue quilled prince who was walking a mere few metres before her asked; noticing that she had trailed around slightly with an uneasy look plastered on her delicate face. He didn't seem concerned in any way, it was more a remark of his to catch her off guard or something along those lines.

Amy seemed to snap back into reality after that, leaving her deep concerns about this trial to one side for the moment_. 'She needed to be confident, if she was uneasy it would just raise suspicion' _She caught herself thinking once more, before finally deciding to respond to the remark he had made moments before. "I'm perfectly fine, I don't know what you're going on about..."

He scoffed, remaining silent once more before stopping before the door that lead to the throne room where Amy's trial with Aleena and the court of Mobias would take place. He turned himself to face the pink quilled princess. "I only hold suspicion for you as of the moment, princess Amy of Iris." He stated, before placing a hand on the cold, golden door handle and pulling it open in order to lead the young princess into the throne room.

"Well, be ready to have your suspicions turned against you. I have no intention of harming Mobias, Queen Aleena, or anyone in your court, and I'll proudly prove that in this trial." She had made her last remark. Amy, with her head held high, strolled into the throne room that lay just before her; Sonic following closely behind her. "I suppose we'll find out." Was the last thing that could be heard, before the door to the throne room slowly drew shut, leaving nothing but dead silence in the dungeons.

_Iris Kingdom; Roughly 9:00am_

The tap of armoured shoes pacing around on bitter stone floor could be heard within the throne room as a tension filled scene began to commence before all those present. He was furious, to say the least.

Lance was strolling around; soldiers cowering inside as they stood before him in his angered state, but still doing their best to keep a posture that made them look like the fearless guards they were meant to be. "So you mean to tell me that you failed to breach the main city of Mobias during the attack last night?" He asked after several tension filled moments of pacing around the throne room in dead silence; occasionally giving a cold, harsh look to a guard who was lined up. A cold harsh look that just screamed that they were not getting out of this situation without any problems. A cold harsh look that certified all those in there a brutal punishment from their power-hungry ruler.

Lance had turned toward one of the guards in the line, awaiting the answer to his question, despite already knowing it. The guard's face was not visible due to the helmet that was sat on his head, but it was obvious to anyone there that he was cowering in fear behind that suit of armour. He took one gulp, before letting out his response in a shakey, uneasy manner. "M-Mobias is a lot more d-defensive than we firsts p-presumed, sir. It was almost as if they had expected our attack before we had planned it."

Lance retreated from the cowering guard, pondering the guards words for a moment. It was certainly possible that Aleena had been expecting his attack, she had been preparing for the Mobian inheritance ceremony after all, she would have had extra forces around to protect the kingdom from intruders or attackers. In addition to that, they were at war. Even though Iris hadn't made any major moves to invade the kingdom of Mobias yet, Aleena had employed extra guards to watch over the city in order to be on the safe side.

But Lance was still determined to get what he desired, and swiveled back around on one armoured foot to face the still fear striken army before him. "I have decided to spare you for the moment, but failure in the next invasion will lead to harsh consequences." He let out bitterly, before proceeding with the meeting he had called.

"The second matter I would like to discuss is the whereabouts of my daughter, Princess Amelia Rose." He began to pace around again, the tension and fear that had been lost momentarily building up once more. _Just when they thought it was over with..._

Lance had turned to face his subjects once more as they began to simmer with fear once more as his bitter gaze fell apon them one by one.

"She fled the castle in one of her moods last night whilst I was going forth with the attack, and has not returned since. Did any one present catch sight of her at any point last night at the time of Mobias's invasion?" He asked; now standing somewhere near the left side of the throne room from where he had paced back and forth whilst commencing with his meeting. Despite the question seeming one carrying no threat, the guards were still reluctant to speaking. Lance, inevitably, was getting impatient. Thankfully for all those present, one decided to speak up in everyone's best interest. "Your majesty, Princess Amelia Rose was not spotted at any point throughout the attack. The fog made it hard enough to attack as it was, it was practically impossible to catch sight of anyone in the distance."

Lance on any normal occasion would have been in a state of rage at any negative information regarding any aspect that he may have asked about, but decided to let it pass. There was no way that his fifteen year old daughter could survive on her own with no supplies and no roof over her head. _She'd come crawling back to him eventually, just begging for mercy... _"Very well. I shall send search teams around if she does not return within the next few days. You are dismissed, get out for my sight."

The guards seemed somewhat surprised that Lance had not severely punished them for their failure to complete a mission assigned by him, but still showed absolutely no reluctance to getting out of the dreaded throne room within an instant before he had second thoughts on not punishing them.

Lance let an approved grin escape to his face, seemingly proud at his ability to strike fear into people with a simple bitter glimpse or approaching them. He allowed himself to park himself on his throne once more, content on doing nothing but plan his next act of war. _He would get Mobias, and he would do it with brute force._

Meanwhile, on one of the balcony's several metres above Lance's throne, sat a familiar purple cat. Her face was stricken with worry; back leant against the cold, stone wall that kept those who were sat or stood on the balcony from falling as her amber eyes were fixed on the oaken door before her. Princess Amy had not returned to Iris since the night before, it worried her sick. She wasn't even sure on the entire situation, she had escorted Cream back to Mobias afterall. Had Amy been hurt while she had not been present? Had her father injured her after getting into one of his angered moods with her whilst she had demanded he called off the attack on the kingdom of Mobias? Blaze shook her head in denial, being pessimistic was not doing her any good, that was for sure. Amy could handle herself, and Blaze knew that full well. Besides, Lance had only mentioned that she had fled the castle.

Blaze traced her thoughts back to the events of the following night, desperate to find some hints on her friends current location.

_"I need you to escort Cream back to Mobias, Iris is invading and she needs to hide for her own safety. And I know you're not keen on my father's actions either, so could you please do this for me?"_

_She couldn't...no...the consequences were too harsh_

_"Please, Blaze... I won't let my father find out, I swear!"_

_She had felt reluctancy well up within her at that moment, she knew the consiquences of betrayal to the king and the kingdom of Iris, and did not plan on suffering the consequence. But Amy had looked in desperate need of her help, and leaving the young rabbit out alone in a time of brutal and agonising war was not an option for her. Her loyalty to her friends came before her loyalty to her kingdom, after all. "F-Fine..."_

_Princess Amy had nodded at her in appreciation after processing her response and had began to depart, but Blaze could not help but worry about how she would cope with her father. He was a power-hungry man who was willing to do anything for power, after all. He was capable of anything; she worried that Amy may not now what she was up against. "Amy, wai-"_

_Silence. For she had pondered too long, Amy had already ran down to the throne room in order to confront her father. Blaze sighed, and, with great worry for the young princess, began to commence with her assigned task. It was the least she could do to help her. She also departed the corridor in a hurry, her hopes set on Princess Amy persuading her father to end all this..._

At that instant, Blaze sighed in disappointment. Nothing Amy had mentioned the past evening had given any hint on where she might be, let alone how she might be. Nethertheless, she had gotten the petite rabbit back to Mobias with close to no trouble, so all she could to was wait as of the moment. However, she made a silent promise to herself to begin to search for the princess if she has not returned by daylight tomorrow morning. She couldn't let this feeling of worry linger for too long...

_Mobias Kingdom; Roughly 9:00am_

Silence. Silence was all that lingered within the Mobian throne room as Amy wandered further inside. She heard several muttered whispers from the Mobian court as she came to a halt; not bothering to pay more than a second of her time paying attention to them or what they were saying; just knowing that it would not have any positive aspects or meaning to it.

She looked at the person before her. The graceful Queen Aleena, the long term ruler of the kindom of Mobias. Aleena was adorned in a long, purple garment and had the Mobian royal crown sat on top of her head; pressing her purple shaded quills down ever so slightly at the contact. She rose from the throne that she had been sat on, making all those present stand silent. The questioning would begin now, and Amy had to do all she could to prove that she had no intention of harming any one within the kindom. Unlike her brute of a father...

Aleena promptly cleared her throat, before speaking up. "Today, I will be questioning Princess Amelia Rose on her presence on Mobian territory during the attack that happened last night. The questioning willl begin now, if you have a valid point to add to the questioning, please raise your hand in an orderly way and wait for your chance to put your point across." Aleena finished, before promptly beginning the questioning.

Amy couldn't help but feel vaguely intimidated by all the eyes that had fallen apon her as of the moment; not only that, but Aleena seemed extremely serious at this moment, despite having been described as a fun, laid back and loving ruler by a certain young rabbit that she knew named Cream.

"Princess Amy. From the information that the guards who took you prisoner last night have informed me on, I am aware that you were found wandering through Mobian territory in the late hours of last night, is that correct?" Aleena began, Amy gulping slightly before letting out her nerve filled response.  
"Y-yes, that is true."

_'Being on trail is horrible! But I need to think and act fast if I want to prove my innocence...' _

"But I can assure you that I was lost in the fog, I had no idea where I was and had intended on asking the passing guards for help, not to harm your court or you kingdom in any way, shape or form, your majesty..."

Aleena nodded in understanding at the girl's response, taking in every last word she had said. _'It's an understandable response, the fog that had been present over the continent last night was one of the worst recorded for decades, anyone could have gotten lost in that. But I must question her more before I can certify her innocent.'_

"That's all well and good, but how can anyone be sure that you're not just covering your intentions to harm us with the incident of the fog?" A male voice had caught the attention of all those within the court room. It was a male voice extremely familiar to the Queen, it made her roll her eyes in a disapproved manner and begin to lecture the owner. "Honestly, Sonic! By now I would of expected you to know that the same rules apply to you when we're questioning someone. You can't just yell out your point, you have to wait." She let out a second disapproved sigh.

_'Honestly, how does he expect to run a kingdom well with an attitude like that...'_

"But it's a valid point mum."

"But isn't my trial supposed to reveal anything I may be hiding?"

"Enough. Let's just forget this whole minor situation. Sonic, remain silent until you're entitled to speak." Aleena turned away from her son; his arms now folded in a stroppy manner.

"Let's carry on from where we left off. Princess Amy, why had you been out in the fog in the first place? Surely Lance wouldn't have let you go."

Amy bit her lip, quickly thinking up her response to Aleena's second question before opening her mouth to speak once more. "I had left the kingdom after having an...em..._**disagreement**_ with my father." She stopped briefly, before carrying on; still aware of all the dirty looks she was getting from the court of mobias. She was from the kingdom who invaded them, after all. "I had gotten lost in the fog after exiting my kingdom and wound up at Mobias by chance." Aleena had shown a look of understanding toward the young princess of Iris, but a certain blue quilled prince was still rolling his eyes and huffing; evidently not believing the words she spoke in the slightest. _Oh, how wrong he was..._

He just couldn't believe that his mother was believing all of this. Sure, the girl seemed nice enough and didn't seem to want to harm anyone, but how could she be so sure?  
Sonic didn't personally have anything against the pink quilled princess; she was in fact probably one of the kindest seeming characters from Iris that he had seen as of this current moment, but the blood boiling past of the two kingdoms just couldn't help but jumble his mind up and make him feel uneasy and irritated at someone from that harsh kingdoms court being within Mobias. The amount of lives that had been taken away by her father were too high to track; some of which being extremely close to the prince.

"Thank you for your time, Princess Amy. I now have reason to believe that you were not intending to harm us in the hours of last night." Aleena spoke, causing Sonic to snap out of his trail of thought. He was about to speak up despite knowing that his mother had told him to wait, but her voice stopped him firmly in his tracks. "However, we shall keep you here in the Mobian court for now. I believe that you were not intending to harm the Mobian people last night, but it has not yet been proven that you do not intend to report on anything witnessed here when your return to Iris. For safety reasons, you will be kept here." Aleena paused briefly, before speaking once more.  
"But keeping in account that you're innocent, I shall remove you from the dungeons and allow you to have one of our spare suites." With those final words, Aleena stepped back toward her throne; awaiting a response from the princess.

"I respect your decision entirely, Queen Aleena. I appreciate your kindness in allowing me out of your dungeons, also." Amy was overall content with the way the trial had ended up. She had not wanted to return to Iris and face her, most likely, furious fathers wrath. Her only main concern was how the court were going to treat her. Sure, she had been proven innocent within the trial that she had just endured, but they were more than likely to still hold suspicion of her_. 'I suppose I'll just have to prove that I'm not like my father...'_  
That was the final thought that had crossed the young girl's mind before she embarked toward her designated room; guided by one of the Mobian guards.

Sonic sighed, he didn't know if he was content with her being here at Mobias, or whether he'd of preferred her to be sent back to Iris territory. Either way, there was a threat. He didn't know how far he could trust Amy, but decided to leave the situation for now and think about it in more detail when he was alone with nobody to disturb him. However, as he began heading toward his room- "Sonic, please may I talk with you?" He heard his mother speak, and replied with a simple nod before turning in his tracks and heading back toward his mother.

"Yes, mum?"

Aleena bit her lip ever so slightly, having second thoughts on whether having an in-depth discussion on such pressing matters was a wise choice at the moment. Nethertheless, she decided to go through with her first instinct.

"I understand that you may feel daunted about her being at the court, especially considering how hard the last situation revolving around Iris seemed to hit you." Aleena looked to the floor, stopping briefly. She had seen her son's blank expression as she began to speak about this particular subject. She knew that_ he knew exactly what she was talking about, he knew it all too well..._  
"But what Cream has told me about Princess Amelia has sounded positive, so I ask of you to try not to worry so much, for your own sake." She gained a nod from her son as he had began to depart from the room. She was not done, however. She had one more matter at hand that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. "One more thing, Sonic." He froze in his tracks.

"I also need you to understand that time is wearing thin toward the time you become ruler. You and I both know that you must at least have a potential bride by that time, otherwise I am not permitted to go through with the ceremony."

Sonic swore he had never felt this pressured in his entire sixteen years of life in Mobias. How was he supposed to find a potential partner within six months when he was not interested in anyone as of the moment?

"I have decided to hold a small get together with a few other kingdoms in order to help you on your search for a bride." Aleena could sense that her son felt uneasy; despite him not mentioning anything.

"Thank you, mum. But I would like to discuss this another time, I want to be alone for now." Before the queen knew it, he son had vanished leaving nothing but a single blue blur and minor gust of breeze behind. Aleena simply gazed at the floor once more. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea?_ _Maybe he needed more time?... Or maybe she just needed him to see the importance in this entire situation? _

She shook the thoughts from her head. _Only time would tell..._  
And with that in mind, she departed from the room; intending to have some time alone to process the situation at hand herself.

A war, a passing on of a title, an heir who is yet to marry...  
It would be a tough predicament to get out of, that was for sure...

_End of Chapter 2 - Trials And Predicaments_

**AN: So, there's the second chapter as promised. I really hope you liked it! I apologize if the trial scene dragged slightly, it was extremely tricky to write it in an interesting way since trials tend to be kinda boring I guess! xD  
The first two chapters were mainly to set up the story though, the chapters after this are where my main plot will start and things will start to be revealed about the character's pasts, the kingdom's pasts, ect. I have a lot planned for this story, so I can assure you it will start getting interesting soon enough c:  
**

**Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for reading! I'll try to update again next weekend at the latest, but I may try to get the third chapter out sooner if it's possible 3  
**

**Please favourite and review this story if you're liking it so far, I'd really appreciate it :3  
**

**Goodbye for now!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Knowing The Rose

Melancholy And Roses

Chapter 3 - Knowing The Rose

_Mobias Kingdom; Roughly 10:30am_

She had been escorted to the room several minutes ago, and was left at the door by the guards who, obviously, did not trust her one bit. They had left her with a warning. A warning telling her that if she even so much as attempted to escape, they would make short work of her then and there, regardless of what the queen said.  
She knew that they were only doing their job protecting the castle and it's owners, but couldn't they cut her a little slack? She had just endured a trial that proved her innocence, but that evidently was not gong to be enough to sway the opinions for the Mobian court. One thing she was certain of was that she was going to prove her good intentions on the entire predicament, one way or another.

The room that Aleena had supplied her with was lovely to say the least. To her left was an en suite bathroom with porcelain facilities, and to her right was a bed with freshly washed sheets; much like the ones she had been provided with the following evening. She had also caught sight of an oak dresser and wardrobe to the far end of the room near the balcony, and checked inside for any sign of clothing that she could use whilst she was here in Mobias. She had not been able to take any of her own clothes as she was not expecting to be taken captive whilst storming out of Iris in rage with her father, so clothing had been a slight worry for the young princess. However, relief shrouded over her when she found several garments hanging up within the wardrobe that looked roughly her size.

Amy closed the wardrobe, a small thudding noise emitting from it briefly before the room returned to silence once more. She began to walk toward the bed that sat within the room and allowed herself to fall apon its soft surface; intending to get some thinking out of the way.  
She was not sure on what she was to do here. Everyone excluding the a small fraction of people still held suspicion of her and thought of her to be a bit of a shady character, so it would not be an easy task interacting with anyone within the court apart from her small friend, Cream and her mother Vanilla. Everyone else was bound to be hard to talk to without any kind of judgement being made of her.

Her second predicament was with the blue quilled prince that she had encountered several times within the last two days that she had been here. Prince Sonic had been the person who seemed to hold the most suspicion over her; as shown clearly as her trial with the queen was in action. He always seemed to have a counter to any remark she had made in an attempt to defend herself, despite the fact that she had spoken nothing but the truth throughout her time here. The princess simply sighed, pressing her nails against her palms lightly as her hands closed shut. _What was his problem with her? And why was he so determined to try to prove her somewhat guilty? _Those were questions that the young teen could not seem to find an answer too, regardless on how long she pondered about it.

She found herself falling into a light sleep whilst she was lost in thought about her current situation, but was promptly interrupted by a light knock on her door which caused her to sit up in place and head to place where the sound had been emitted from.

When she opened the door to her room, she met the face of a smaller rabbit who had a slight smile plastered on her face, but wore more of a worried look. She was obviously relieved at seeing that Amy was safe and was not at all harmed, they had been friends since when Amy was only a little girl, after all and Cream worried about her sometimes, despite knowing that she could handle herself.  
"Amy! I'm really happy that you're safe!" Before Amy had even been able to say hello to her young friend, the said girl had clasped hold of the princess in a tight hug, before sobbing lightly and going on about how worried she was about Amy.

Amy simply stroked the girl's hair in a comforting way, knowing full well that it would take several moments for Cream to return to her usual fun, loving state. "I'm sorry I worried you, Cream." She spoke in a calm, way. A manner that eventually brought the girl's sobs to a stop and to loosen her grip lightly.

"Sorry, Amy. But I was really worried about you...I wasn't sure on how your father would react about you asking him to put an end to all this." Cream's words came out in more of a mutter as she was still holding onto her friend; afraid that she might go and put herself into a state of danger if she let go even slightly.

Amy looked a little daunted at her friends words, however. She wasn't sure on whether Cream knew that her father would be back to attack again. Even Amy herself had no clue on when or if her father would decide to strike the peaceful kingdom of Mobias once more. After several moments of pondering about the matter, she came to the conclusion that her father was more than likely to be back for more. _'But...when?'_

"A-about that, I'd like you to be extra careful at the moment. My attempt at getting my father to stop more than likely failed, so I wouldn't be surprised if he came back and attacked once again."

Cream nodded, taking in the words that her older friend had just spoken. "I promise to take care, Amy."

"Thank you." Amy replied, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"So, would you like to come in for a while? The view from the balcony is fantastic an-" Amy began to ask, but was interrupted by her friend shaking her head slightly.

"Sorry, mama needs me to help her with something. Maybe later though." Amy smiled in understanding at her friend and began to wave goodbye and retreat to her room before being stopped in her tracks by her friend's voice once more.

"One more thing. Prince Sonic would like to see you at some point today, Amy. He's normally down in the throne room."  
Those were the last words her petite friend had spoken before prodding down the staircase in order to help her mother.

Amy was extremely confused at the words Cream had spoken before walking back to her home. _'Why on earth would he want to see her? He's extremely suspicious of me...right?' _She sighed, completely unsure on everything. She was exhausted and just wanted to rest, she didn't need him questioning her more about everything that had all been covered in the trial she had just endured.

Despite her reluctancy, she found herself closing the oak door to her room and promptly walking down the stair case Cream had walked down moments before. She'd might aswell get it over with, that way she can have the rest of the day to rest and think everything through. And with that, she proceeded toward the throne room where Cream had told her to meet up with the eldest Mobian prince.

_Iris Kingdom; Roughly 11:00pm_

Several hours had passed since Lance's meeting with the guards that had been in the battle the following night, and he was currently planning his next attack on the kingdom or Mobias. He had called on more elite knights this time around. He had obviously underestimated Queen Aleena's defensive forces before, and he would make sure not to make the same mistake once again. Blaze, being one of those elite knights, despite hating the King's brutal actions and bitter personality.

She had been called into Iris's throne room by the king himself, and now found herself standing before the emotionless man himself.

It was obvious to all those within the room that Lance had thought up another one of his plans in order to take attack Mobias. _'To think that he'd call on the stronger forces? Not to mention that he hasn't sent anyone to track down Amy, she could be seriously hurt or in danger now for all we know...'_

Amy's brute of a father had not gotten very far into talking about his 'master plan' on invading Mobias since Blaze had decided to speak up about his currently missing daughter and her, Amelia Rose. He had stopped and given her a menacing glare briefly, but did not attempt to intimidate her like he had when discussing matters like these to his regular forces. The elite forces were powerful to a large extent, and wouldn't be taken back by Lance as easy as the others had before.

"Lance, I have one thing on my mind at this moment in time, and it's not invading Mobias." Blaze gave him a serious look, a look that meant that she was not going to allow what she had to say to be taken lightly, not even by the king himself.

"You're own daughter is missing and could be anywhere now, _**anywhere. **_And all you seem to be concerned about is fulfilling your own desires. What's going to happen when you die if we don't find her? Your title will be passed on to another family, and I can tell that you don't want that. So why haven't you taken action to find her already? It angers me that you don't seem in the slightest way concerned for her!"

Even Lance seemed momentarily shocked at Blaze's words, he had never been spoken too in such a serious way by any of the Iris guards; mainly because they were far too afraid of the outcome of doing so.

He was about to open his mouth to give the elite guard who, from his point of view, had too much to say; but was stopped firmly in his tracks by a second voice. A male one this time.

"I agree with her, you're ignoring the more important matter here, Lance. It's time we took action on the priority here instead of fulfilling your own wants."

Now, anyone who spoke up to the king and opposed his orders under any normal circumstances would be thrown into the dungeons to rot on the spot. But if there was one guard that Lance would not meddle with, it was Shadow.  
Shadow had been a guard within the kingdom for so many years now that pretty much everyone had lost count. He was rumoured to be one of the strongest within the continent. He was not a force to be reckoned with, and even Lance knew that.

He wore a look of annoyance at Shadow's presence, he had always seemed to be somewhat against his actions too, just not to as large of an extent as Blaze or his currently missing daughter. Lance knew full well that it wouldn't matter if he took up Blaze's point or not, for her and Shadow would go on search for Amy anyway. _Shadow just wasn't afraid, and anyone with Shadow somewhat on their side wouldn't be afraid either. Damn!_

He growled, defeated. knowing that he could not win against his elite guards.

"Grhh, I suppose it's time to look for her before she goes and dies or something stupid like that. She _**will**_ be suffering harsh consequences when she is found though for opposing me, she will learn to love power and control eventually. All of you will go out and search for her immediately, I expect her back by sunset."

Blaze wore an irritated expression at the king's words. _'Not only does he still not seem to give a damn, but he's also threatening to harm his own daughter if she's returned safe and sound!'_

She was about to give him a piece of her mind once again, but was promptly stopped by Shadow.

"As if we'll let him harm her. Anyway, we need to find her fast. She could be anywhere by now." Blaze nodded in agreement, and followed behind the over elite knights to find the lost princess or Iris. _'Please be safe, Amy...please...' _

With a last thought in mind, the knights began their search for Amy; the sunlight beaming down on the war-torn terrain as they left this broken city of shattered dreams.

_Mobias Kingdom; Roughly 11:00pm_

She had reached the throne room after several minutes of wondering what the Mobian prince could possible want from her; confused to say the least.

He had been standing precisely where Cream had told her he'd be, in front of Aleena's throne. The throne that was soon to be his.  
Much to Amy's surprise, he had greeted her with a smile. She had thought for sure that the first thing he'd do was give her a look of suspicion or simply fold his arms and ignore her existence. But no, he smiled..._'Why?' _She approached him reluctantly with a confused expression on her face and they stood and endured a fairly awkward silence for several moments, before the extremely impatient Iris princess finally spoke up, just wanting to know what he wanted from her.

"Okay, you called me down here, what do you want?" Her tone sounded vaguely fed up, it was clear that she would rather be elsewhere now. Like in her bed, resting. Or simply chatting aimlessly with Cream about nothing in particular.  
But instead she was stuck down here with the person who held endless amounts of suspicion of her to -_most likely- _be asked countless questions about the kingdom of Iris, her father and chaos knows what else.

He simply rolled his eyes at her irritated tone. "Relax, I just wanted to talk about the situation."

However, it didn't seem to relax the young princess in the slightest way. It was precisely what she thought this whole deal would be about; just a repeat of what was discussed a mere few hours before. '_Great...' _

"Haven't we already been through this?" She was exhausted and just wanted to rest, it felt like forever had passed by since she had last been able to get a good, solid nights sleep. It was starting to get to her, especially under the circumstances that were in place at the moment.

"Who said this talk was about the trial? I don't remember mentioning anything like that." Her face went blank at his words, realising that she had jumped to conclusions; one of her worst habits. She gave in after that, raising her hands up in defeat. "Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Displeasure was still slightly evident in her tone, but not to the extent that it had been several moments before.

He shrugged. "Since you're going to be staying here for a while, I suppose it'd be a wise idea to talk a little more. All I've felt toward you is suspicion, so maybe if we get to know each other a little better that feeling of suspicion could fade."

Amy nodded in understanding, it was a pretty good idea if she had to admit it. But- "Does it seriously have to be now, I'm exhausted!" She whined, just wanting to feel her warm, soft matress below her small form so that she could finally get some decent rest for the first time in ages.

But Sonic -obviously- had other plans. "Now or never, it's your choice."

"Fine!" She gave in once more, deciding to get this over with. "Where are we going exactly?"

He had not responded to that last question, but had simply walked through the castle until he reached the oak double doors that sat on the far end of the throne room. Amy had not been sure on where this was leading the duo too at first, but soon caught on that it was the main entrance to the Mobian castle's court-yard; the layout being vaguely similar to her own back in Iris.

Once the doors had opened, Amy had been sure that she mouthed a silent _'wow'_ after catching sight of the simply stunning terrain before her. It looked like something her smaller friend, Cream would describe as paradise. Sure, the one back in Iris hadn't been too bad before it was reduced to a burning pile of fire and ash once war had broken out, but the one in Mobias was by far prettier in the young princess's mind.

Rose's, Lily's, Sunflower's. She couldn't count the number of flowers she had seen just after taking only a small glimpse at what was around her, there were just so many flowers and plants. She felt tranquil after laying eyes apon the scene before her; nature was one of her favourite aspects of life, and never failed to bring peace to her heart. Even at the worst of times.

She had zoned out; off in her own little world once again, which did not go unnoticed by a certain Mobian prince who was currently waving a hand before her face in an attempt to capture her attention once more.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He asked sarcastically; finally snapping her back in to the real world.

"H-huh? Sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts again..."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Obviously..."

"It's really stunning out here, you know. How did you even manage to make the place so nice?" She asked, still dazed by the beautiful scenery.

"I don't know myself to be honest, it's been this way for years. I like to sit out here when I need some peace at mind though, it's one of the few places I can go and sit without being bothered by anyone."

Amy didn't respond, but simply nodded in understanding; silently wishing she had a place to escape to in Iris when she needed to be at one with her thoughts.

"Anyway, you wanted to talk, so talk." Amy took a seat on a single oak seat that was several metres away from herself and Sonic. It wasn't comfortable, but she swore she could relax on pretty much anything at that time.  
The sun was beaming down in a warm and soothing way, which only seemed to add to the girl's sleepy manner.

Sonic placed a hand under his chin and began to think about potential things to ask her. _'I'm still not sure on her, if mum won't ask any more about her for now, then I'll do so myself. I don't trust Iris or anyone from it. __**Anyone**__.'_

"I suppose you could start by telling me about yourself." Amy huffed in response, but decided to go through with it nonetheless. _'The sooner this is over with, the better.' _

She was still reluctant to talk about her kingdom more though, she'd done enough of that for one day. But a part inside her seemed to know that the Mobian prince would be asking her more about it. A lot more about it, that was for sure...

"You already know my name and my status though, can't we just find out more over time?" She huffed once more.

Sonic, inevitably, noticed the girls reluctance to reciprocate. "Something tells me you're fed up and would rather be elsewhere." He rolled his eyes, causing the princess before him to grow even more fed up and irritated in his presence.

"And something tells me _you're_ enjoying keeping me out here so that you can ask me more ridiculous questions about Iris, I presume..." She repeated his earlier actions; rolling her jade eyes that seemed to gleam even more in broad daylight.

"Whatever, now would you just tell me about yourself." He sounded impatient from the Iris princess's perspective, she decided to give in from there on knowing that answering what he had to ask would get her back to her warm, soft bed faster than standing her bickering with him all day.

"Fine, my name's Amy. I'm fifteen years old and from the kingdom of Iris. I like flowers and dislike war and violence. Happy now?" She answered, earning another disapproved look from the boy before her. "Is that it. _Seriously_?"

She folded her arms at his response. What did he expect, he asked me to know something about her, he got it.

"What do you want, a freaking biography?!"

"I never asked for a biography, I just maybe wanted to know what you would do in Iris, what you intend to do when you become ruler, the things you'd do in your spare time."

She froze. Just as she'd expected...

"Oh, so you _**are **_wanting to question me more? ... Hmph, How am I not surprised?" She replied, a hint of sarcasm evident in her tone toward the end.

Sonic, however, simply turned his head to the view before him once more, focusing on the terrain the Mobian court-yard was settled on more than the annoyed princess that sat a mere few metres away from himself.

"You know I don't trust you. I don't trust anyone from Iris in that matter, they've taken so many lives of the people here in Mobias."

Amy looked up from the cobble that lay under her feet; despite the deep annoyance she felt toward him for being so suspicious toward her and not hearing her out, she couldn't help but feel vaguely sorry for the Mobian prince. Her father had taken so many lives. She had lost count of how many in all honesty, he just didn't seem to care about how the loss of a life could affect those around them. He really was a nasty piece of work, not even his own daughter knew what to think of him or his actions any more.

The more she pondered about it, the more her thoughts began to circle around the suspicion he feels toward her_. 'Did he seriously think she would take the lives of people here...?'_

She had been silent for several long moments now, simply lost in her own thoughts about the matter at hand. Sonic had turned to her once or twice within these moments before she finally spoke up.

"I understand why you hold suspicion toward me, my father is a brute of a man and has taken many lives."

Amy rose from her seat, and began to walk toward the court-yard doors that led back into the castle. However, just as she reached them, she turned back to the cerulean hedgehog.

"But I just want you to know that I have no intentions of taking anyones life here at Mobias. I don't mind if you believe me or not, it's entirely your choice."

And with those last words, she place her gloved hand over the slightly cold door handle and pulled one of the double doors open before venturing back inside.

Sonic, however, didn't say anything. He remained staring aimlessly at the scene before him.  
He was not gazing at thin air though, Amy had missed one detail of the court-yard. It was a stone standing proudly near some ruby-red roses and long grass.

Sonic approached it; his hand running over the inscription he knew all too well once more.  
It was a gravestone, without a doubt. A memorial set in place for one of the most important people Iris had torn away from the eldest Mobian prince and his two siblings. Their own father.

_'Iris have taken so many lives, even those who were closest to me. I can't trust anyone from there, no matter how kind or honest they seem...I'm sorry.'_

He didn't even know what to think about the entire predicament any more, let alone who he could trust.

_End of Chapter 3 - Knowing The Rose_

**AN: Okay, I'm really sorry for taking so long to update again ;n;  
I had the flu and couldn't really write anything since I needed rest, ect. But I'm back now, so expect more frequent updates from now on c:  
**

**So, this chapter is where the main plot starts to unfold. The first two were mainly for introduction purposes, and the rest of the chapters will be related around the main story.**

**Like I mentioned before, I've got a lot planned for this story, so be patient because the interesting stuff will start to happen soon. I just need a base to work off of, that's all xD  
**

**Anyway, thank you for reading! Please rate and review, it would mean a lot c:  
**

**I'll try to update again soon.**


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